WWFM

Phone: 609.587.8989
Toll-free: 888.232.1212

Address:
Mercer County Community College
1200 Old Trenton Rd.
West Windsor, NJ 08550

© 2026 WWFM
Donate
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
We're grateful our listener-members' support this past year. Be part of our continued musical success in 2026 with your year-end donation, in any amount, now. Thank you!

How the New Year's Eve countdown began

WBUR | By Here & Now Newsroom
Published December 31, 2025 at 12:03 PM EST
The 7-foot tall "2026" numerals are displayed at an illumination ceremony in Times Square, Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025, in New York. (Adam Gray/AP)
Adam Gray/AP
The 7-foot tall "2026" numerals are displayed at an illumination ceremony in Times Square, Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025, in New York. (Adam Gray/AP)

As we approach the new year, did you know that counting down to midnight in the last seconds of Dec. 31 is a modern phenomenon?

Historian of history, Alexis McCrossen, takes us through where it comes from and how New Year went from a local celebration to a national and international one.

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.

Copyright 2025 WBUR
Arts and Culture News
Here & Now Newsroom